Congress MP seeks setting up of JPC to combat air pollution

Congress Rajya Sabha member Amee Yajnik on Friday asked the government to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to work with all stakeholders and to fix a timeline for it to present a comprehensive report on the current status of air, water and land pollution in the country.

Moving a resolution on the matter during private member's business in the Upper House, she also asked the government to introduce stringent legal provisions to mitigate environmental pollution and promote sustainable development.

Yajnik said despite the country having several laws, policies and authorities such as the Central Pollution Control Board and state pollution control boards to check the various forms of pollution, the issue persists.

Asking members to pass the resolution, she said, "Let there be experts from all fields. All laws are (should be) taken in one place, all the schemes and policies are (should be) put together because by taking them singularly or isolatedly, we are creating a lot of multiplicity of levels."

Underlining the importance of the implementation of environmental laws, the Congress MP said there is a need to understand how to deal with the implementing agencies and "how are they contributing to the non-implementation part" of the laws.

She said in today's time, health has become a major concern and it is being affected by various forms of pollution.

Yajnik lamented that despite schemes like 'Nirmal Bharat' and 'Swachh Bharat', there are "very difficult situations where garbage is not being incinerated, garbage is not being treated" and untreated industrial effluents find their way to rivers.

Her resolution sought segregation of the several factors responsible for air, water and land pollution and preparation of a plan of action to control the overall environmental pollution. The JPC could suggest steps to improve environmental protection by adopting technological advancements.

The resolution also called for the formulation of policies to "discourage the use of chemical pesticides and suggest substitutes for chemical pesticides and biocides to our farmers".

It also called for introducing stringent legal provisions to mitigate environmental pollution and promote sustainable development.

Taking part in the discussion, Shiv Pratap Shukla of the BJP highlighted several steps taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to combat pollution, including the launch of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' and providing LPG connections to the poor.

Amar Patnaik of the BJD agreed that all stakeholders must be brought together to address the issue of climate change, of which pollution is a part.

Similarly, V Vijaysai Reddy of the YSRCP raised concerns over the massive consumption of fossil fuels that is contributing to poor air quality and global warming.

"It is the need of the hour that all the representatives of the government and stakeholders come together and combat environmental pollution," Reddy said.